10 most hard to spot and rare nocturnal animals

Apr 24, 2025

Aakanksha Sharma

Rare nocturnal animals

Nocturnal animals are one of the hardest to spot, especially by common people, owing to their active phases. When the world sleeps, they emerge from their homes and are thus rather rare to see. Here we mention 10 hard-to-spot and rare nocturnal animals.

Aye-Aye

One of the strangest-looking animals in the world, the Aye-aye is nocturnal in nature, and is rather rare to spot owing to its night routine and its home between the trees. It has large eyes, big ears, and a long, thin finger used to tap on tree bark to find insects inside.

Pangolins

Pangolins too are rare to spot animals and are nocturnal in nature. Pangolins are covered in tough scales that they use as defense, and they curl up into a ball when threatened.

Honey badger

Honey badgers are one of the most fierce animals in the wild, and are known to take on prey twice their size. But they are not often seen because they roam mostly at night, hunting snakes, insects, and even raiding beehives.

Fossa

Another vicious predator is the Fossa, and it looks like a mix between a wild cat and a mongoose. It is a night hunter, moving silently through the forest, and lives in dense forests, owing to people having a hard time finding it.

Numbat

Numbats are small, termite-eating animals that are more active during dawn or dusk to avoid heat and predators.

You may also like

​​10 birds that can swim like fish​

​10 beautiful yellow birds that will bri...

Slow loris

Another small animal that is rare to spot and mostly nocturnal is the slow loris. Evident in the name, it moves slowly and silently, has big, round eyes, and is just distinct to look at.

Aardvark

The Aardvark is a quiet, burrowing animal with a pig-like snout and long ears. It lives in burrows, hiding during the day, emerging at night for insects and food, and is thus rare to spot.

Small-eared Galago

Popular as ‘bush babies’, the small-eared Galagos have big eyes, similar to Aye-ayes, and can jump between trees to protect themselves and scavenge for food. These too are active only at night and stay in dense forests.

Indian flying fox

An elusive bat species, the Indian flying fox is one of the largest bat species in the world.. Though they roost in large colonies during the day, they become active after sunset, flying out to find fruits and nectar.

Eastern screech owl

An owl excellent at camouflage, the screech owl can blend in with its surroundings, making it hard to spot, and is also nocturnal in nature, which makes seeing them a rare occurrence.

Thanks For Reading!

Next: ​​10 birds that can swim like fish​